"PURPOSE YOUR PRAYERS TO PRAISE”
by Sandy Hoffman
Let my cry come right into Your presence, GOD;
Let praise cascade off my lips;
Let Your promises ring from my tongue;
Invigorate my soul so I can praise You well . . .
(excerpts from Psalm 119:169-175, The Message)
What a prayer! Every word of every line should literally thrill the heart of the true worshiper! God’s promises ringing from our tongues? Praise cascading off our lips? Just imagine! Ponder for a moment. Praises, like the never ending torrents of Niagara, overflowing from us into eternity. Can you see yourself in this picture? The very thought should make us ravenous for worship. Let’s shout it together, “God, invigorate my soul so I can praise You well!” Now, once more with feeling: “God, invigorate my soul so I can praise You well!!” These once were King David’s words, inspired by the Holy Spirit. They now belong to you . . .DIVINE DESIGN It’s amazing how God created us with a “God-shaped” void in our hearts, and a “praise-shaped” void in our mouths. He knew first, that we must accept in our hearts the salvific work of Jesus Christ on the cross. But afterward, He also knew that praying our praises, and praising Him with our prayers would draw us closer to Him. Faith is enriched when our mouths proclaim His character and Divine attributes. The relationship to our Heavenly Father grows when the beliefs in our hearts, and the confessions of our mouths are in alignment. We read in Mark 11:24: “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. (NKJV) When our mouth is praying, and our heart is simultaneously believing, “things” just start to happen in our lives. We begin to enjoy answered prayers. And because we’re praising as we pray, God gets all the glory. How cool is that? It’s an obvious “Divine design,” set in motion to bring Him glory, and us peace and victory while we live on this earth. I marvel.
A THESSALONIAN SANDWICH I Thessalonians 5:16-18 reads like a recipe for a praise/prayer/praise sandwich: 16. Rejoice always (praise). 17. pray without ceasing (prayer), 18. in everything give thanks (praise); for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (NKJV) We live, rejoicing in the goodness of God, pray constantly according to what the scriptures say about Him, then thank Him in every situation; knowing that He got there before we did! (What a relief.) When this type of praise/prayer/praise practice pervades, incredible things are bound to happen. With this in mind, let’s also remember that there’s a huge difference between praying, “Lord, please help me,” and praying/praising, “Lord, You alone are able to help me.” The former is totally “me” centered: “Help me, help me!” But in the second example, we’re focusing not on our personal need for help, but on God’s ability to provide the help we need. We’re actually engaged in praising Him for His ability. Praying this way not only builds our faith, but acknowledges His Divine power to do what He says He’ll do. He’s able, and as we pray with praise instead of wants and needs, we become more acutely aware of His infinite ability.
PRAYERS OF PRAISE Let’s discuss three “layers of prayers” including praise. We begin with the personal. As a worship team leader, I find that the entire process of planning weekly worship goes much better when it’s bathed in praising prayers. Prayers from Proverbs, for example, that God would direct my steps as I prepare (Proverbs 16:9) are often spoken during the planning time. As the song list for the week materializes, so do my prayers of praise for His inspiration and anointing on the upcoming corporate worship. The second layer of prayers of praise occurs when “two or three (usually the worship team) are gathered together in His name . . .” During weekly communications and worship rehearsals, prayers of praise are lifted up in acknowledgment of His presence and power. As we gather for weekly rehearsal, the team takes time to rejoice together in what God has done, and to thank Him in advance for His goodness and mercy in our lives and worship times. Prayers of praise again are offered just before we lead the body of Christ in worship. We deeply desire to see the Lord moving and ministering in the lives of His people, and since He’s already promised to do that, we simply need to thank Him for it in advance. Our final layer is corporate prayers of praise. How awesome it is to hear the collective voice of God’s people reciting His words in unified prayer. The scripture says we’re to “remember His marvelous works which He has done,” and “make known His deeds among the people.” Here’s our chance! With careful planning, scriptures of prayer and praise can be interspersed between songs in our worship set, and read in unison. Liturgical readings and original prayers of praise can also be used to support the central worship theme of the day.
The weekly numerical building from personal to small group to large corporate gathering adds an element of anticipation to the worship planning process. Every week our excitement grows as we move towards that moment when the body of Christ will come together once again to confirm our love for Him, and “rehearse” His incredible, unfathomable sacrifices for us. As the scripture has said, Let my cry come right into Your presence, GOD! With intentionality, let me always purpose my prayers to bring You praise!
Nothing Higher,
Sandy
